


Not Going Anywhere

by Demerite



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mission Fic, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 04:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18985489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demerite/pseuds/Demerite
Summary: As away missions go, this was supposed to be a simple one.Of course, Jim should have known better than to assume things were going to go to plan.





	Not Going Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlecrazyfangirl_98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlecrazyfangirl_98/gifts).



> Part of Mi's 450 Writing Challenge, I had McKirk + 'stay the night', and I hope I did it justice!

As away missions go, this was supposed to be a simple one.

Of course, Jim should have known better than to assume things were going to go to plan. Bones is absolutely going to kill him for this. Jim can already see the look in his CMO's eyes; that particular light that says 'if we make it out of this alive, you're dead'. Jim's not overly worried about that look at the moment though, he's more focused on the 'making it back to the ship alive' part.

They're running, which sadly isn't unusual for an away mission, and they're being chased, which also isn't unusual. They're not _currently_ being shot at, which is an advantage, and they're not having projectiles hurled at their heads, or fire breathed at them - don't ask, the burns might have been healed easily but Bones had bitched Jim out about it for _weeks._

Bones _is_ cursing Jim out as they run, which Jim thinks is both impressive and also entirely unwarranted. It wasn't even his fault this time! Jim's actually not entirely sure it was _anyone's_ fault. They'd been welcomed into the throne room with open arms - well 'arms' being a relative term, the local race has multiple long prehensile limbs similar to tentacles but furry - and things had been going well with negotiations, until suddenly they _hadn't_ been. Jim, constantly on alert had only just been fast enough to drag himself, Bones, and the two security officers with them in the landing party out of harm's way into a tunnel before the shooting started. The local weapon is a nasty-looking gun that fires actual projectiles, so when he'd seen one of the guards reaching for their weapon, Jim had judged it to be in everyone's best interests if they started running. And so now they're doing exactly that, the sound of angry, many-limbed beings in hot pursuit echoing off the walls of the stone tunnels.

"Scotty!" Jim pants into his communicator, "Beam us outta here!" Harsh static greets him, and he spares the breath to snarl a few vicious curses. They're still too far underground, the minerals in the rock making use of transporter or comms below-ground impossible. They have to make it to the surface if they're to have any hope of escape.

On they run, booted footfalls loud on the stone floor, breath coming hard and fast. Their pursuers are loud behind them, and gaining. Jim knows if they don't make it to safety soon, they'll be caught. They don't know the tunnels that well, and the locals obviously do; if the landing party makes a wrong turn and gets lost it will all be over.

Ahead, Jim spies a tunnel, branching off to the left. He's pretty sure that's the tunnel he's been looking for, the one that will take them to the surface and safety beyond. Hoping he remembers the layout from the few scans they were able to make, and making his decision before he can start to doubt himself, Jim dives for the tunnel, and the rest of the landing party following him into the darkness.

Once they're around the first blind corner, Jim slows his pace from a frantic run to a brisk walk. They're not out of danger yet by any means, but the slower pace lets the landing party move quietly, which works in their favour. During negotiations, Jim had noted that the locals appear to have poor hearing, relying instead on superior low-light vision to navigate the tunnels and caverns of their home.

As they walk, Jim glances around, checking his team. The older and more experienced of the two security officers, Lieutenant Th'tethat is in the lead. He has one hand resting on the grip of his phaser, but he hasn't drawn it. Jim trusts him, trusts his assessment of the situation and the level of threat. Bringing up the rear of their group, Ensign Ramirez has her head up, eyes darting around quickly, checking everywhere for danger, even looking back over her shoulder in search of pursuit. Jim wishes that this wasn't her first landing party, but she seems to be handling herself well; her glances are watchful, but not panicked.

Walking next to him, Bones is glaring. Jim can't help himself, he nudges Bones' shoulder with his own and leans over to murmur, soft enough that Bones is the only one who will hear him,

"You know, you're cute when you're angry."

Bones turns his glare from the world at large specifically to Jim. "Guess I'm about to get real goddamn adorable then." He growls, and despite the situation, Jim has to work to suppress a laugh.

"C'mon Bones, this is fun." He teases.

Before Bones can answer with what is likely about to be another bitingly sarcastic remark, Th'tethat gets Jim's attention.

"Sir." The Andorian says, and Jim can already see what he's pointing out. There's light ahead. _Sunlight_. They're nearly out!

As one, the landing party picks up their pace again, accelerating back up to a run. Making so much noise is a risk, Jim knows, but there hasn't been any sign that they're being followed since they turned, and they're _so close_ to safety now.

They run the last few metres, and then they're bursting out into blinding sunlight. Jim squints, wincing at the sudden brightness after so long in dim tunnels and caverns, but he doesn't need to be able to see to raise him communicator and call for transport.

"Scotty!" He says, and he's delighted to hear a voice coming through in reply.

"Captain! We lost you for a bit there, the rock-"

"Never mind that, beam us out!" Jim cuts his chief engineer off, might snap just a little bit, but Scotty will forgive him for it. He hears faint Scottish grumbling on the other end of the comm channel, but he can ignore that. They're going to make it!

Which, of course, is when Jim gets shot. Because nothing can be fucking easy.

Pain flares, bright and insistent and blinding in his left side, and Jim falls, crumpling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. He doesn't actually remember the falling part, just being on the ground, the pain and the blood.

He's pretty sure he's dying. The blood is a good indicator, he thinks. So's the pain. The pain is mostly what's cluing him in to the whole dying thing. That and not really being able to move, even though he keeps trying. He _needs_ to move, they were being chased, he's got to get his team out of danger!

There are voices, above and around him, and he doesn't understand them, can't tell if they're speaking Standard or another language entirely. He can't tell if the faces belong to people, or if they're even human. He can't even see properly, his vision keeps getting blinded by bright lights and then going dark, or maybe his eyes keep slipping closed? God, getting shot _sucks_.

Hands press down against the wound in his side, and Jim's pretty sure he screams, but maybe he's just thinking about screaming.

His last thought before everything goes black is that if he dies, Bones is going to be _unbelievably_ mad at him.

 

*** 

 

 Jim wakes up in sickbay. He's pretty used to waking up in sickbay, but it still comes as a surprise to him this time. Mostly because he was absolutely certain he was going to bleed out down on the surface before anyone could do anything. 

The lights are painfully bright, and he scrunches his eyes shut with a groan, and tries to put his hand up to cover his face out of instinct, which is when he realises that there's something - or some _one -_ holding onto his right hand. 

Cautiously, he opens his eyes and peers to his right. 

"Bones." He breathes, quiet and almost reverent, on seeing who is holding his hand. Relief floods through him. Bones is okay. He's right here. He's _safe._

"Just so you know, I'm mad at you." Bones says, but gives Jim a crooked half-smile and squeezes his hand before letting go and reaching for a scanner. The biobed already has all of Jim's readings, but Jim is familiar with his CMO's need to reassure himself that his captain is alright after every injury. "You need to stop getting injured every time you leave the damn ship." Bones mutters. 

"Someone has to." Jim mumbles, which gets him a look he translates as 'I'd rather that someone wasn't you, but I don't wanna start this argument again'. It's been a sore spot between them since Jim took command of the _Enterprise_. Jim's responsibilities as captain, his commitment to his crew, and his steadfast determination not to send anyone somewhere he wouldn't go himself clashing with Bones' protective nature and his desire for everyone - but Jim especially - to come back from every away mission unharmed. They've argued about it, time and again, shouted and snarled and left each other in silent but it always ends the same way. They both have their duties, and duty has to come first. But there's a difference between having to accept something and being happy about it. 

"Next time you get shot, just try not to bleed everywhere." Bones admonishes gently, "You scared the crap outta Ensign Ramirez." 

"Shit, is she okay?" Jim asks, sitting upright. Bones pushes him back against the pillows with a firm look, "Is Th'tethat?" 

"They're both fine." Bones reassures him, "Ramirez helped me get you stable enough for transport." 

Jim can remember a little of that, flashes of pain, faces and voices above him, hands pressing down against the wound in his side. Instinctively, he puts a hand to his side where the wound had been, although of course there's nothing there now, all traces of injury healed like so many others. Sometimes, he wonders what he would look like if his scars couldn't be healed, if new tissue couldn't be regenerated to cover injuries. It's not something he likes to think about too much, secure in the knowledge that if that was the case, he'd be dead several times over by now. 

"I'll be more careful." He promises. 

Bones mutters something disbelieving and puts his scanner away, already dispensing orders about rest and taking care and 'if I see or hear of you on the Bridge before tomorrow Jim I swear to god' that are familiar to Jim as breathing. Jim nods and smiles and resists the inexplicable urge to kiss Bones right there in the middle of sickbay, overwhelmed with joy at being alive and love for the man who brings him back from the brink of death time and time again and still puts up with him long past what anyone should reasonably be expected to. He doesn't kiss Bones, but it's tempting. 

"Will I see you later?" He asks when Bones is done growling at him. 

He gets a smile, a real smile this time, and a nod, and the promise that Bones will come check on him at the end of his shift, and then someone is calling for Dr McCoy, and Bones shoots him an apologetic look and ducks around the curtain, leaving Jim to pull on a clean uniform and boots alone. 

It gives him a moment to compose himself before the walk back to his quarters, but when he leaves sickbay he finds he needn't have worried, the corridors are practically empty. Jim hardly sees anyone as he starts walking, only the occasional crewmember passes him; he nods and smiles and greets them all, receives smiles and greetings in return. Most days, he'd do his best to stop and talk to people, to ask how they are, but he's exhausted, it's task enough to remember names and keep a smile on his face at the same time. 

Jim passes the main turbolifts and casts a wistful gaze over them, contemplating ignoring Bones' orders and going up to the Bridge, just for a few minutes, just to check on things. He knows he doesn't _need_ to, the crew will have everything under control, but a part of him itches to see that for himself. But he knows that if he tries it, Bones will be on the Bridge moments after he is to chase him back to his quarters anyway, so he sighs, and turns down a corridor towards the secondary 'lifts instead. 

"Sir!" He hears her call out before he sees her, and when he turns, Ensign Ramirez is standing in front of his, every slightly out of breath, wisps of black hair escaping from her ponytail. 

"Ensign Ramirez." Jim is glad he's alert enough to remember to give her a disarming smile, "My apologies for bleeding on you earlier." 

Her mouth twitches, like she's trying to contain a laugh, "No apology necessary, Sir." She says, "I just wanted to say that I'm glad to see you back on your feet." 

"Thank you, Ensign." Jim says. 

Ensign Ramirez returns his smile, and Jim nods a dismissal, watching for a moment as she turns and heads down a crossway. He makes a mental note to check in with Lt. Th'tethat at some point too, and starts off down the corridor before anyone else can stop him to talk about anything, hoping he can make it back to his quarters without interruption. 

The corridors are mercifully empty until he steps into the turbolift, only to find it already occupied. 

"Captain." Spock steps to the side to allow Jim some personal space, or perhaps to protect his own, "I am pleased to see you are recovered." 

For Spock, that's practically delighted gushing. Jim shoots him an exhausted, but genuine, smile. "Thank you, Spock." He says, and silently prays that his XO only wants to pass on his good wishes, and doesn't have any important business for him. 

No such luck. 

"In your absence-" Spock stars, but Jim cuts him off. 

"IS any of it life-threatening?" 

"Negative." 

"Send it to my PADD." Jim insists, shooting a look back in the direction of sickbay that is mostly for Spock's benefit, "I'm under strict instructions from Bones to stay off the Bridge until tomorrow." 

"In that case, I shall not incur the wrath of Dr McCoy." Spock says, one eyebrow arching, "I will see you tomorrow, Captain." 

The lift stops, and Jim steps out into the corridor, mumbling an acknowledgement. 

Minutes later, he makes it back to his quarters without any further social interaction, and the moment the door closes, he slumps against the wall for a moment with a faint sigh, letting out the breath he feels like he's been holding slowly. His quarters looks exactly the same as they had when he'd left on the mission to the surface; bed unmade because he'd been running late, a book on the floor next to the nightstand, two glasses on the edge of the desk from where he and Bones had shared a drink the previous night. 

His PADD is already lit up with a report from Spock, and Jim skims through them quickly, a little more tension draining out of him as he does. The ship and crew are both find. Nothing is damaged or malfunctioning, no-one is injured or dead, and there has been no communication from the planet below. The rest of the information is detailed reports from each division, but that can wait. 

Jim sets the PADD down and heads straight for the bathroom, already stripping out of his uniform as he goes. He wants a shower, and then he wants to sleep. 

He turns the water up hotter than he probably should, and steps until it with a sigh, and just stands there with his head bent, letting the warmth rush over him. Despite there being no physical evidence, he feels like every inch of him is bruised, aching. The hot water is helping though, and gradually he feels more of the tension draining from him. They made it. They're all safe. His team made sure everyone came home. Ensign Ramirez isn't scarred for life. Bones will be back with him at the end of his shift. The ship is safe. Jim repeats the thoughts over and over again until he starts to believe them. It takes longer than he'd thought it would, but it happens. 

By the time he steps out of the shower, he's used more water than he should have, but that's fine, he can use the sonic for the rest of the week. Tonight, it's worth it. He dries off and goes in search of something that isn't his uniform. 

He manages to find some sleep pants and a shirt, tugs them on and collapses into bed enough though his hair is still damp. He'd been considering finding something to eat, but once he's lying down, he knows there's no way he's getting up again any time soon. How can a standard-issue mattress feel so _good?_

Jim doesn't mean to fall asleep, and he doesn't realise that he has until he's woken by someone settling into bed beside him. 

"Bones?" Jim mumbles. The lights are off, but he doesn't need to be able to see to recognise the arms that wrap around his waist, or the lips that press against the back of his neck in a gentle kiss. Jim rolls over, snuggling into the embrace. "Will you stay here tonight?" He asks, burying his face in Bones' chest and breathing in deeply. He knows the answer will be, knows what the answer always is, but he needs to hear it. 

"I'm here, ain't I?" Bones replies, and Jim feels a kiss against his hair, "Go to sleep Jim, I'm not going anywhere." 

**Author's Note:**

> Check out Mi's blog [here](https://littlecrazyfangirl-98.tumblr.com/), and come talk to me [here](https://demerite.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
